Two months after WESH 2 Investigates exposed dirty, smelly tap water in Umatilla, including chunks of floating metal, city leaders told the state they are concerned their water mains are not adequate when it comes to fire protection.

According to state officials, the pressure and consistency of the water is not adequate and that could be a problem when it comes to putting out fires.

In a grant proposal sent to state officials city leaders express concern that their aging water mains may not be helping firefighters do their job, telling state officials something never revealed to us: that the "system pipe sizes and pressures are not adequate to provide fire protection."

That revelation isn't sitting well with folks who live here.

"If there's a fire and they don't have enough pressure it's not going to be put out. They're not going to be able to fight the way they're supposed to," said Amanda Stasiewicz, Umatilla resident.

"I have four kids. If we lost everything in a fire because our system isn't adequate I wouldn't be happy about that at all," said Brittney Davis, Umatilla resident.

According to the proposal, the majority of the city's pipes are between 30 and 60 years old and are "very brittle."

Umatilla Fire Chief Mike Vitta said the city's pipes are a mix of old and new, and because of that, the water pressure coming out of fire hydrants is inconsistent and varies, depending where you are in the city.

"Right now we're dealing with if you get closer to the water tower you get better pressure and volume when you get further away it drops," Vitta said.

That drop in pressure makes it tougher to fight fires, since crews sometimes have to rely on tanker trucks instead of hydrants. The state is now giving the city $4 million to replace all of its aging pipes and nearly $700,000 to upgrade its tower, which will help increase water pressure.

"It'll be nice to have a consistent fire flow throughout the whole city," Vitta said.

Upgrades to the water treatment plant should be finished by next year. The entire system should be upgraded by December 2017.